All hobby gardeners agree that it is desirable to have loose garden soil. Such soil is better supplied with oxygen and is less prone to waterlogging. Plant roots can also find their way better through loose soil. There are several ways to eliminate unwanted compaction.
How can you loosen the garden soil?
To loosen garden soil, you can dig or aerate the soil, incorporate sand or gravel, and use plants with strong roots such as potatoes, nasturtiums and marigolds to eliminate compaction and improve the soil structure.
Different approaches
Compacted soil can be made more loose again in various ways. Here are the options at a glance:
- Dig up/loose soil with various devices
- Improve composition with sand
- Use plants with soil-loosening roots
Tip
Which of the methods offers the best chance of success also depends on the other properties of the soil and the severity of the soil compaction.
Digging
Digging up harvested beds in autumn has been practiced for centuries. While this used to be done painstakingly by hand using spades, today you can mill larger areas with motor-driven equipment. The large, upturned clods of earth are transformed into fine, crumbly soil by the winter frost.
Now, however, this type of digging is becoming more and more distant. This is because the different layers of the earth are literally turned upside down. Many beneficial soil organisms suffer from this.
It is better to poke holes in the ground at regular intervals with a spade (€29.00 on Amazon) or use a claw that can be turned sideways so that the layers of soil are not disturbed.
Incorporate sand
A very compacted soil often means that its composition is very clay-heavy. To make it a little looser in the long run, you can improve it with coarse sand or gravel. The sand or gravel is first scattered generously on the surface and then worked in with a rake to a depth of about 10-15 cm.
Insert plants
Some plants have a richly branched root system. This has the power to loosen compacted soil. Use such plants specifically. For example:
- Potato plants
- Nasturtium
- Tagetesflowers
You can change your location every year. Ultimately, the entire garden soil can gradually benefit from it.
Tip
Also make sure to fertilize the garden soil ecologically. The worms in the garden soil can survive better and in turn help to loosen the soil.
